Success came to me at an early age. However, it did not come without a price. Bodybuilding found me; I did not go looking for it. At seventeen I knew nothing about weights, eating right, let alone having any sort of discipline. Here are a few things I learned along the way that I believe it takes to make a champion in your own heart.

Hope:

Deep in side you only need a small amount of HOPE to get you to the next day. In the beginning of my career that’s all I had.

Belief:

Confidence can grow inside. If you don’t have it, take your ego out of it and sooner or later bodybuilding will give it to you. Whether it comes from you or someone else, you really have to belief. For me, I had two friends that believed in my first, then after a while they began to rub off on me.

Pure Motives:

Have pure motives of being healthy verses just looking good. If you have desires to truly feel better health wise and about your self, then you will have more motivation in the down times. Early on, I started to feel the benefits both physically and emotionally of what bodybuilding was doing to me.

Here are some common mistakes people make that keep them from being Champions!

1. Egos: In many ways most people allow their egos to defeat them and get in the way of the full potential. You might not get this but, bodybuilding is NOT about you! Lose it, or keep on losing in life.

2. Afraid of Change: Most thinks their way works best. Wrong! Bodybuilding is an art. Art is subjective. Each person is different. The minute you think you know everything is the time you should give it up.

3. Ashamed to ask for help: The smartest thing I did when I was first started bodybuilding and competing was to ask for help. Knowledge is power when you adapt it to your personality. You are not living up to your potential if your pride is in the way.

4. No goal of mission. If you are just going to the gym to go, you are not being smart in your training. Map out your training one year in advance. Having purpose promotes focus.

5. The more is better trap. The more you do the bigger and leaner you will be. NOT! Work smart and efficient rather than long and hard. The smartest thing I ever did was set a time frame to my workouts.

6. Off season blues. People slack off after an event of competition. You should be in it for life. You should be sold out to exercise. If you are not, and only train when you are getting ready to compete, you are in the sport for the wrong reasons. Forget it; you will never be a champion. Champions are sold out!

What ever your goals are or level you are at, remember what bodybuilding truly is about. What is truly is about are not what you see, but what you feel. Yes, being a Champion comes with a price. But what price would you pay for the freedom to live your life with confidence.